A Certain Ratio - To Each... LP

Label: Mute

Our Review:

A Certain Ratio is one of the early bands the Manchester post-punk community alongside Joy Division and The Durutti Column who all were at the heart of Factory Records. Taking their name from a Brian Eno lyric, A Certain Ratio crafted a sound that evolved through the bleak references of post-punk into a groove-oriented, funk-pop ensemble by the mid-'80s.

Produced by Factory's in-house engineer Martin Hannett, To Each… pushes to A Certain Ratio's powerhouse rhythm section to the foreground. Within the supple dynamics to the album's songs, Donald Johnson's flawless percussive syncopations brace the limber basslines from Jez Kerr. Tracks like "Felch," "Forced Laugh" and "The Fox" recoil and lunge with intensity and grace, as A Certain Ratio fills in the blanks with swarms of guitar noise, bursts of militant trumpet and sporadic vocals. The album's finale is another standout, taking detour from the concise funk-punk numbers for a nearly 13-minute voodoo mantra in "Winter Hill."